Float trimmer for circular hosiery



Dec. 8, 1959 J. L. BLAIS 2,915,803

FLOAT TRIMMER FOR CIRCULAR HOSIERY Filed May 20, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 8, 1959 J. 1.. BLAIS FLOAT TRIMMER FOR CIRCULAR HOSIERY Filed May 20; 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 z; 41% J6 J2 J0 4 J;

7 i2 gzyfl United States Patent FLOAT TRllVlMER FOR CIRCULAR HEOSIERY Joseph Lionel Blais, New Ipswich, N.H., assignor to Tricnit Hosiery Mills, Inc., New Ipswich, N.H., a corporation of New Hampshire Application May 20, 1957, Serial No. 660,128

7 Claims. (Cl. 26-11) The present invention relates to an improved apparatus for trimming out the floats and other yarn ends in circular hosiery and similar articles in which certain of the yarns are floated from one location to another on one face of the fabric.

It is an object of the present invention to catch and to sever the floats which appear on the inwardly turned face of the cylindrically knitted fabric, and thereafter to cause all of the severed yarns to be trimmed to substantially uniform length.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a float trimmer which may be readily adjusted to trim floats of different minimum lengths.

With this and other objects in view as may hereinafter appear a feature of the invention consists in the provision of a hosiery trimming apparatus having a cylindrical hose support body of which the leading end is formed as a comb consisting of a retainer ring containing a series of round removable rods arranged parallel and in cylindrical relation to the body, each of said rods having mounted on its inner surface an inwardly sloping cutting edge, said apparatus further having a relatively stationary cutting cylinder mounted within the body with a serrated leading edge providing teeth which are engaged by a rotary knife mounted within the cutting cylinder, and a device for creating an air draft so that the thread ends are drawn in a direct line from the inner face of the fabric across the serrated cutting edge to effect the trimming of the ends to a desired uniform length.

A further feature of the invention consists in the provision of a hose support body of the type described above having rods of which the outer ends are grooved to prevent the knitted fabric stretched over the cylindrically arranged rods from slipping off.

A further feature of the invention consists in the construction and arrangement of the trimming apparatus to permit an easy replacement of elements of the cylindrical hose support body having characteristics which are adapted for the trimming out of floats of different minimum lengths.

Another feature of the invention consists in the construction and arrangement of a rotary knife assembly mounted within the cutting cylinder which includes one or a plurality of cutting elements which are preferably spring pressed against the cutting edge of the cylinder to insure the eflicient and rapid trimming of the yarn ends presented thereto.

The several features of the invention consist also in the devices, combinations and arrangement of the parts hereinafter described and claimed, which together with the advantages to be obtained thereby will be readily understood by one skilled in the art from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Fig. l is a side view of an apparatus for inspecting and shearing hosiery embodying therein the several features of the invention;

Fig. 2 is an end view of the apparatus for inspecting and shearing hosiery shown in Fig. 1 looking from the right, but drawn to full size;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail view of one of the rods forming a comb presenting interdental spaces for the reception of loose reinforcement threads of a stocking in combination with a cutter providing an adjustable inwardly sloping cutting edge;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on a line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on a line 66 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a full scale view in section of the leading end portion of the stocking supporting and thread cutting elements of the apparatus including the rods forming the comb, the inwardly sloping cutting edges mounted on the rods, and the rotary knife assembly located toward the base of the comb from the sloped cutting edges;

Fig. 8 is an exploded view illustrating particularly the elements of the rotary knife assembly including the stationary circular saw tooth edge thread engaging elements and the rotating knife driver and the four rotatable knives spring seated therein; and

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary view of a portion of one of the rods of the comb, the sloping knife edge mounted thereon, and the rotary knife assembly illustrating the manner in which inside floats in hosiery drawn onto the comb are severed.

The apparatus for trimming out the floats in circular hosiery and similar articles illustrated in the drawings as embodying in a preferred form the several features of the invention comprises a base 20 on which is mounted a horizontally disposed cylindrical tube 22 and a tube 24, the two tubes being aligned with one another and separated sufiiciently to provide space therebetween for a V-belt driving pulley 26. A collar 28 is secured to the right hand end of the tube 22 and provides support for a series of rods 30 which form the teeth of a circular comb over which the hose to be trimmed is drawn. Each rod 30 is provided at its outer end with a cap 32 which is rounded to avoid tearing the fabric, and which is gauged for size to determine the length of the floats which will be admitted for cutting by the comb. The outer ends of the rods 30 may be roughened as shown at 33 in Fig. 3 to prevent the fabric from slipping off the comb. Each rod 30 is provided on its inner face with a holder 34 in which is adjustably mounted a razor type cutter 36 having an inwardly sloping cutting edge. These holders and the razor blades held thereby provide a ring of cutting edges, each sloping inwardly from the inner face of the respective rod 30, said cutting edges being spaced some distance from the tips 32 of the respective rods 30 toward the bars of the comb.

The general construction of each individual holder 34 and the manner in which the razor blade 36 is adjustably mounted therein will be readily understood from an inspection of Figs. 3 to 7 inclusive. Each holder consists of two parallel supporting side plates and is provided toward the tip of the rod 3i with a closed boot 3:8 into which the tip end of the razor blade is inserted, and at its other end with a cover 40 to engage with the rear end of the blade. The supporting side plates of the holder are recessed to expose the razor edge of the cutter 36, which is held adjustably in position by means of a locking pin 42 arranged to pass through the holder and to engage in one of a series of notches 44 formed on the rear edge of the cutter 36 as best shown in Fig. 4. A horseshoe spring 45 seated in an annular groove in the outer end of the pin 42 serves to retain the pin 42 in locking position.

The holders 34 are provided at their rear ends with projections 46 which extend slightly between the teeth 47 of a saw-toothed cutting member hereinafter to be described. These projections 46 are adapted to carry any uncut floats passing over the holders 34 into engagement with the teeth 47.

The rods of the comb are individually mounted in recesses formed in the collar 28 and are secured therein by means of set screws 48 screw threaded into the collar and adapted for engagement with flats 49 formed on the butt portions of the rods 30. With this arrangement the rods 30 are held angularly in position and also can be readily removed to permit adjustment, as for example, a substitution of different sized caps 32 or the replacement of cutters 36.

The arrangement of the rods 30 and sloping cutters 36 is such that the act of drawing the hose onto the comb will engage and sever the floats of yarn against the sloping edge of the cutters 36. As the fabric is drawn still further onto the hose support body the ends of the floats, and also any long floats which may not have been cut by the sloping edge cutters 36, are severed and their ends trimmed to a desired length by means of a second cutting device comprising a stationary circular saw tooth thread engaging element and a group of four cutting knives which are continuously rotated with relation to the circular saw tooth engaging element. Referring specifically to Figs. 7 and 8, the circular saw tooth thread engaging element comprises a sleeve holder 52 which is mounted from and fixed to the tube 22 inwardly of the comb supporting collar 28, and a saw tooth edge sleeve cutting member 54 having the teeth 47 above referred to, which is fitted into a recess 56 formed in the inner face of the sleeve holder 52.

The rotary cutter element which cooperates with the stationary saw tooth cutter 54' comprises a tubular driver 58 which is rotatably supported within the tube 22 and is arranged at its outer end to provide support for four tungsten-carbide tipped cutting tools of having on each side thereof cutting edges 61. Each cutting tool 60 is supported in a longitudinal recess 62 in the driving tube 58. The tool of) is positioned longitudinally by a positioning pin as and is spring pressed outwardly against the inner face of the sleeve saw toothed cutting member 54 by means of a small compression spring 64 seated in a recess 66 in the bottom of the recess 62. The tubular driver is connected to be driven from any convenient power source, not shown, by means of a driving pulley 26 which is secured to the driver 58 and is adapted to receive a V-shaped driving belt generally indicated at 70 in Fig. 1.

In order that the carbide-tipped cutting tools 60 may have a maximum life before they must be re-sharpened, arrangement is made for driving the tubular driver 58 in either direction. When the cutting edge 61 at one side of each of the tools 60 becomes dulled the direction of drive of the driver 58 is then reversed and the hitherto inactive edge 61 at the other side of each tool 60 becomes operative. This reversal may be readily accomplished, for example, by reversing the direction of drive of the driving motor not shown.

An air draft is created through the apparatus producing a suction from the interior of tube 22 through tube 24 into a suction pipe 74 by means of a suction device or pump which might be of any ordinary description and is therefore not here specifically shown.

It will be noted particularly from an inspection of Fig. 7 that the driven cutter unit is located toward the base of the comb rods 38 from the ring of sloping knives 36. The diameter of the saw tooth cutter ring 54 is gauged with relation to the diameter of the comb to cause the individual ends to be cut into a desired length which will not be objectionable to the wearer, and at the same time will avoid the possibility that the ends may be caught and pulled out of the fabric during wear.

The operation of the apparatus for trimming out floats in circular hosiery and similar articles will be briefly reviewed as follows: The hose in right-side-out position is drawn onto the comb formed by the rods 36. The minimum length of float which will be picked up by the rods 39 is determined by the size of the tips 32. During this manual operation the floats, both long and short, which have been picked up by the rods 30 of the comb are caused to pass over the inclined cutting surfaces 36 as shown in Pig. 9 to sever the floats, which will then appear as relatively long ends extending from the interior surface of the fabric. As the movement of the hose onto the hose support body continues these ends are brought, as shown in Fig. 9, into contact with the stationary saw tooth cutter member 54 by an air draft provided as above described by means of a suction device which tends to pull the loose threads into the tube provided by the rotating tubular driver 58. These ends are then trimmed to a uniform length which is determined as above noted by the length of the end extending from the interior surface of the fabric to the cutter. All waste material is drawn off through the suction pipe 74 by the action of the suction air draft.

The invention having been described what is claimed 1. An apparatus for inspecting and shearing hosiery comprising a tubular hose support body of which the leading end is formed as a comb having multitudinous teeth presenting interdental spaces for the reception of loose reinforcement threads of a stocking, a cylindrically arranged group of inwardly sloping cutting edges mounted from said teeth, a rotary knife assembly disposed within said hose support body at the base of said interdental spaces comprising a relatively stationary cylindrical element with serrations providing teeth at the outer end thereof, and a rotary knife mounted within said cylindrical element cooperating with said teeth, and a suction device drawing rearwardly through said cylindrical element.

2. An apparatus for inspecting and shearing hosiery comprising a tubular hose support body of which the leading end is formed as a comb having multitudinous teeth presenting interdental spaces for the reception of loose reinforcement threads of a stocking, each of said teeth having the form of a round rod having formed on the inner surface thereof substantially removed from the leading end of the comb an inwardly sloping cutting edge, a rotary knife assembly located within the perimeter of said teeth beyond said inwardly sloping cutting edges away from said leading end, said rotary knife assembly comprising cooperating relatively rotatable circular saw tooth thread engaging and knife elements, said cutting edges being extended toward said rotary knife assembly to guide any uncut reinforcement threads passing over said edges onto said saw tooth thread engaging elements, and means for removing severed threads rearwardly through said tubular hose support body.

3. An apparatus for inspecting and shearing hosiery comprising a tubular hose support body of which the leading end is formed as a relatively coarse gauge comb having teeth in the form of round rods presenting interdental spaces for the reception of loose reinforcement threads of a stocking, a cylindrically arranged group of cutting knife edges formed on the inner surfaces of said teeth substantially removed from the leading end of the comb and sloping inwardly therefrom, a rotary knife assembly located within the perimeter of said rods, beyond said inwardly sloping cutting edges away from said leading end, said rotary knife assembly comprising a relatively fine gauge circular saw tooth edge thread engaging elernent fixed to said tubular hose support body, and at least one knife element acting against the inner surface of said saw toothed thread engaging element,

riving means having a rotary action to continuously move said knife element in cutting relation about the inner face of said circular saw tooth thread engaging element, and means for removing severed threads rearwardly through said tubular hose support body.

4. An apparatus for inspecting and shearing hosiery comprising a tubular hose support body of which the leading end is formed as a relatively coarse gauge comb having teeth in the form of round rods presenting interdental spaces for reception of loose reinforcement threads of the stocking and at their tip ends having irregular outer fabric engaging and holding surfaces, a plurality of cutting knife edges forming a ring of such edges formed individually on inner surfaces of said individual rods sloping inwardly from the tip ends of the rods, a rotary knife assembly located Within the perimeter of said rods beyond said ring of cutting edges away from the leading end of the comb, said rotary knife assembly comprising a small gauge circular saw tooth thread engaging element fixed to said tubular hose support body, and arranged with relation to said cutting edges to receive on said saw tooth thread engaging element any uncut reinforcement threads passing over said cutting edges, a plurality of cooperating knife elements, supporting and driving means providing a yieldable support for said knife elements against the inner end surface of said saw tooth engaging element, and means for continuously rotating said knife elements to continuously move said elements in cutting relation about the inner surface of said circular saw tooth thread engaging element, and an air suction device acting to draw loose threads rearwardly into and through said circular saw tooth thread engaging element.

5. An apparatus for inspecting and shearing hosiery comprising a tubular hose support body of which the leading end is formed as a comb having multitudinous teeth in the form of rods presenting interdental spaces for the reception of loose threads of a stocking, each of said rods having removably secured thereto at its outer end a cap rounded to avoid tearing the fabric and gauged for size to determine the length of the floats which will be picked up by the rods of the comb, each of said rods having formed on the inner surface thereof substantially removed from the leading end of the comb an inwardly sloping cutting edge, a rotary knife assembly located Within the perimeter and beyond the base of said teeth and beyond said inwardly sloping cutting edges, said rotary knife assembly comprising cooperating relatively rotatable circular saw tooth thread engaging and knife elements, and a device for creating an air draft so that the thread ends are drawn in a direct line from the inner face of the fabric across the saw tooth cutting edges to effect the trimming of the ends to a desired uniform length.

6. In an apparatus for inspecting and shearing hosiery having a tubular hose support body of which the leading end is formed with a comb having multitudinous teeth in the form of rods presenting interdental spaces for the reception of loose reinforcement threads of a stocking, and a rotary knife assembly including relatively rotatable circular saw tooth and knife engaging elements located within the perimeter of and at the base of said interdental spaces, and an air suction device acting to draw loose threads rearwardly into and through said circular saw tooth and knife engaging elements, the combination of a plurality of said rods, each said rod having formed on the inner surface thereof substantially removed from the leading end of the comb an inwardly sloping U-shaped housing covered at its leading end to provide a boot and at its base to provide a cover and having an intermediate portion cut away, a razor edge cutter supported within said housing by having a cutting edge exposed along the length of said cutaway portion of the housing, and a locking pin passing transversely through the base portion of said housing locking said cutter in position.

7. In an apparatus for inspecting and shearing hosiery having a tubular hose support body of which the leading end is formed with a comb having multitudinous teeth presenting interdental spaces for the reception of loose reinforcement threads of a stocking, a rotary knife assembly disposed within said hose support body comprising shearing edges cylindrically disposed within and fixed with relation to said tubular hose support body, and a rotary knife movable in close proximity to and cooperating with said shearing edges, and an air suction device acting to draw threads across said shearing edges and rearwardly through said tubular hose support body, the combination of a plurality of cutting knife edges forming a ring of such edges formed individually on inner surfaces of said teeth sloping inwardly from the tip ends of said teeth.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,720,209 Cunningham July 9, 1929 2,113,112 Katzmiller Apr. 5, 1938 2,669,765 Auton Feb. 23, 1954 2,722,728 Stout Nov. 8, 1955 

